Diy Ro/di

daveverdo

New member
I am in the market for a RO/DI unit. I was curious if it is cheaper to make one of my own. I am pretty much a PIY guy. Are there any plans floating around for DIY units. What is involved?

Dave
 
I haven't seen any, I have been reading DIY stuff from multiple forums for the past few months. Pretty much I would just go on www.melevreef.com and order his unit. $200 in total shipping and everything
 
Yes, I am considering getting one from the Filter Guys, just thought I'd see if making my own could save me some money or if I could make a better one for the same amount.

Thanks,

Dave
 
Dave,
The problem with DIY RO/DI is getting the parts cheap enough to save money. It's wholesale vs. Retail. The guys who will sell you the parts will do so at retail making it almost impossible to put a unit together cheaper than they are selling them for.

If you can find a wholesaler who will sell you the parts, sure, you'll save money.

RandalB
 
i got alot of my items from h20supply on ebay - atleast the filter housings and ro membrane - but i ordered pieces from eveyone actually
 
I don't see that guy on ebay, what's his member ID? I'd be happy to tell ya if he's selling close to wholesale...

RandalB
 
Go to Ebay and buy a setup from Aqua-Safe. They have a great filter system and it will be cheaper than you can buy the filters and DI material. Under well $100 for a 6 stage system, less for less stages.
 
I started a link on RO/Di units. I have modified mine and still have less money invested than what it would have cost for brand unit. Given my unit is now a 7 stage unit. Most Ebay units come with DESAL membranes and my unit uses two of them. I still have not had a reason to change them, but the future is still open.
968457_STAGE_RODI.JPG
 
Yep as others mentioned previously, it's not so much that you can't DIY a RO/DI unit but doing so would cost as much if not more than buying one.

It just doesn't make sense to DIY when you can buy cheaper. Unless of course you wanted the thrill and bragging rights to say you built your own :)


D.
 
what ever you do skip them desal membranes - go filmtec - im not going to argue here but buying anything other than a filmtec is just .. in a word dumb. Also get 75 gpd units at a 98% rejection rate - if you need more water get 2 of them for an output of 150. as long as you run a good chlorime blocker your membranes should last 3-5 years. no arguing - i dont care to - but filmtec is the only brand you want to buy. hth - fwiw

dan
 
Its almost impossible to build an RO/DIof any quality for what you can buy one for from some of the sponsors here. Very good units start at about $139 and the very best unit available anywhere with dual DI, a pressure gauge and dual inline TDS meters is only $269. You would have to buy a pretty large quantity of components to be able to compete with those.
 
umm 269 - i built mine for about 150 and includes dual chlromine chartridges..... you can debate this issue all day long - do your homework - find what you want - look for complete units vs what you can build it for - and do whats best for you. some people its better for them to diy for others to build their own - but i built mine for less than i could buy it for.
 
oh the whole quailty issue is a joke - get a filmtec membrane - filter guys 18 mega ohm resin and chlormine cartridges and quality filters - its better than what is supplied in the "combo" units - ebay - etc. im sure the spectrapure and stuff has quality items - but just because you paid 269 doesnt mean you got top of the line di resin or filters either...
 
I know exactly what components, filters and resin went into my Spectrapure MaxCap unit. I went to visit with Charles Mitsis the owner and watched it being built myself. You can say what you want but the quality is vewry different between units. Pick a few of them up and feel the physical weight for one. Better housings and brackets have more plastic in them and are just plain beefier. Better filters are absolute rated not nominal rated. Better DI filters are hand packed and layered. I think you need to do your homework before making statements like that. Look up the words absolute and nominal to see what they mean and how it applies to filters. Study how resins are affected by pH and how you can take advantage of that. Then work in the water treatment industry for 33 years like I have and maybe you will understand the differences.
 
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